‘Pool claimed top spot this past weekend after winning 4-0 at Bournemouth (with a hat-trick from Egypt’s Mohamed Salah) and will hope their ascension to the head of the table is reflected when they come up against a United side struggling to challenge for the top four.

Jose Mourinho’s men put up one of their more impressive performances this season when they defeated Fulham 4-1 last Saturday, but such a showing against the team at the bottom of the standings in nothing to get excited about.

The Red Devils lack both defensive stability and attacking prowess two elements Liverpool are right on top of at present but they may have one advantage coming into the match: their midweek Champions League match at Valencia is essentially a dead-rubber in which they can field fringe players (United are through to the last 16, the Spanish side will move into the Europa League), while Liverpool face a must-win clash at home to Napoli in which Klopp must play his strongest available team.

Manchester City will be in the strange position of cheering on their cross-town rivals. Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a first defeat of the season this past weekend when they were outfought 2-0 at Chelsea. Yet a win at home to Everton in the early game on Saturday will send them back to the top of the pile and from there they’ll hope Liverpool are stymied at home by the Red Devils.

Other key battles this weekend which will be aired on DStv include a must-win London derby for Fulham at home to West Ham United, with Claudio Ranieri’s team hoping to stop the in-form Hammers in their tracks, while Wilfried Zaha’s Crystal Palace will target a second straight home win when they host Wilfred Ndidi’s Leicester City.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will come up against compatriot Mario Lemina (and fancy his chances of adding to his 10 league goals) when Arsenal take on Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday, while Chelsea will look to build on their win over Man City with a strong performance on the South Coast against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Key match stats

Liverpool v Manchester United – Head-to-head, Premier League

Matches played 52

Liverpool wins 13

United wins 28

Draws 11

Fulham v West Ham United – Head-to-head, Premier League

Matches played 20

Fulham wins 4

West Ham wins 11

Draws 5

Manchester City v Everton – Head-to-head, Premier League

Matches played 42

City wins 15

Everton wins 18

Draws 9

Premier League fixtures, 15-16 December

All times GMT

Saturday 15 December

12:30pm Manchester City v Everton – LIVE on SS3 & Max1

3:00pm Crystal Palace v Leicester City – LIVE on SS5

3:00pm Huddersfield Town v Newcastle United – LIVE on SS2

3:00pm Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley – LIVE on SS3/SS10, Max1 & SelGO2

3:00pm Watford v Cardiff City – LIVE on SS11

3:00pm Wolverhampton Wanderers v Bournemouth – LIVE on SS6

5:30pm Fulham v West Ham United – LIVE on SS3 & Max1

Sunday 16 December

1:30pm Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea – LIVE on SS3 & Max1

1:30pm Southampton v Arsenal – LIVE on SS5/SS10 & SelGO2

4:00pm Liverpool v Manchester United – LIVE on SS3 & Max1